Don’t like whisky? Pat Retson is on a mission to change your mind. The visitor centre manager at Highland Park, on the outskirts of Kirkwall, has been there herself.

Back in the 1970s, she was not too sure about it, either. Now she works full-time showing people around the 18th-century distillery, helping them to appreciate the wonderful flavours of the different varieties of single malt – and understand the work that goes into making them.

She uses a glass of Highland Park 15-year-old, with a drop of water, to persuade anyone who is unsure about whisky that it can be something very special indeed.

At Highland Park, methods have not changed since distilling started in 1798. The barley is “floor malted”, a laborious germination process that involves two strong men and an ancient wheelbarrow known as “the chariot”. It is then dried in a peat oven, which looks like the one Hansel and Gretel used to roast the witch.

The tools that hang on the walls don’t look like relics from the 1700s. I would date them back to the Iron Age.

The view from the The Creel

“There’s no easy way to do this,” Pat said, as another load of barley crashed on to the floor. “But this is the only way it’s ever been done.”

I’m sure Pat is extremely persuasive but her skills were wasted on me. I’m already a Highland Park fan. She has designed distillery tours to suit every level of whisky enthusiast, from complete beginner to obsessive devotee who wants to spend £1000, learn how to push the chariot and taste the really rare malts that are normally locked behind collectors’ cabinets.

Highland Park is one of the must-do experiences of Orkney, an island that’s now surprisingly accessible, whether it’s by ferry, or by air – you can fly from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness or Shetland.

Another must-do has long been dinner at The Creel, in St Margaret’s Hope.

Now the original owners have moved on and David Sinclair-Loutit is picking up where they left off. A retired businessman, he does not plan to continue running The Creel as a restaurant with rooms. Instead, he’s turning it into rooms with a restaurant – a B&B with deluxe breakfasts, home-cooked suppers and, if all goes to plan, lobster and champagne on Friday nights.

He is determined that The Creel will continue to champion Orkney produce. There’s a pint of local milk in the bedroom fridge and haddock, smoked by his favourite fishmonger, is used in the breakfast kedgeree. The lobster is magnificent, slipping out of its shell into a rich butter sauce.

David Sinclair-Loutit, owner of the The Creel, is determined that it will champion Orkney produce

There is no doubt David adores his new home. Before making breakfast, he had been out taking photographs and showed me several of them before pouring the coffee.

His is an unusual approach within the hospitality industry. “I wonder if encouraging tourism is a good idea,” he said, looking out over Scapa Flow as the sun breaks through the clouds. “I want it all for myself.”

An ancient wonder

When Stonehenge was still an empty field, Orkney had its own Neolithic standing stones. The Ring of Brodgar is a world heritage site, a full circle of stones surrounded by a large circular ditch. It was one of the first historic sites to be listed – in 1882 – but archaeologists are still discovering new treasures today.

The Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

The nearby Ness of Brodgar was uncovered in 2003. It’s a six-acre site with Neolithic cathedral, housing and decorated stone slabs. According to National Geographic magazine, the site’s extraordinary planning, craftsmanship, and thousand-year history are helping rewrite our entire understanding of Neolithic Britain.

Fine wines to wash down superb food

Hurrah, Orkney has a wine festival, the only one in the UK. It’s run from Kirkness and Gorie, a wonderful wine merchant and delicatessen hiding in a lane opposite St Magnus Cathedral. It’s a family business founded in 1859, lovingly revived by Duncan McLean, who moved to Orkney and wanted to drink good wine.

He now supplies the island's best restaurants and hotels. Two of the best are Hamnavoe, a simple, mainly seafood eaterie in Stromness, and Caffe Lucano. Modern and casual, Lucano’s would not look out of place in Glasgow’s trendy Finnieston area and uses fine Orkney produce to make sparky, interesting south Italian dishes.

Delicatessen owner Duncan McLean

Look out for the Taste Our Best logo across Scotland’s businesses as a sign that great quality Scottish food and drink is on the menu, prepared with care and delivered with passion.